Measles elimination status ‘not really’ a concern, CDC official says

By CNN Newsource

Published January 20, 2026 4:27 PM

By Sarah Owermohle, Deidre McPhillips, Meg Tirrell, CNN

(CNN) — Ongoing measles outbreaks in multiple parts of the country are threatening the United States’ status as a nation that has eliminated the virus’ spread, but a CDC leader said Tuesday that the potential change is not a big concern.

Tuesday’s briefing was federal officials’ first on a continuing South Carolina outbreak that has totaled at least 646 cases, according to the state’s health department. There were roughly 760 cases in the West Texas outbreak last year, making it one of the largest and deadliest measles outbreaks that the US has seen in decades.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Principal Deputy Director Dr. Ralph Abraham, a former Louisiana surgeon general who ended some vaccine promotion in his state, argued at the briefing Tuesday that transmission between these states, as well as other outbreaks, has not been proved. But he also said that the US losing elimination status would not be a grave concern.

“Losing elimination status … does not mean that the measles would be widespread, nor would it alter any key measles elimination strategies,” said Abraham, who joined CDC this month. He added that “vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles” but that he supports personal freedom.

The US recorded 2,242 measles cases in 2025, according to CDC data, the most since 1991. The disease was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, and the Pan American Health Organization could decide to revoke that status when it meets in April.

Asked during the briefing whether he would see that as a significant loss, Abraham said, “not really.”

“It’s just the cost of doing business with our borders,” Abraham said. “We have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated. That’s their personal freedom.”

He added that the CDC’s role is to support those communities and help minimize effects of measles.

“The message that I certainly want to send as the deputy director here is, we’re open for business. We’re here to help, we understand concerns that those communities may have, and we’re willing to listen to alternatives” for treatment and prevention, he said.

Ninety-three percent of cases recorded in the US last year, and 95% so far in 2026, had not received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or had an unknown vaccination status, according to the CDC.

South Carolina’s outbreak, centered in the upstate region, is quickly on track to outpace last year’s outbreak in West Texas.

In addition to the hundreds of confirmed cases, more than 500 people in South Carolina are in quarantine after they were exposed to a known measles case without the protection of vaccination, the state health department said, and more cases are expected to come from that group.

Unvaccinated students are in quarantine after exposures in more than a dozen schools — including elementary, middle and high schools. Exposures were also identified at Clemson University and Anderson University, both in the upstate region.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases who resigned in protest last year, said in another briefing Tuesday that trends suggest that the measles outbreak in South Carolina is “very, very active.”

“This is in a growth phase, and it is in a very aggressively fast growth phase,” he said. “We are nowhere close to the place that we would need to be able to say that this is coming under control.”

The vast majority of measles cases in the South Carolina outbreak — nearly 90% — have been among children, and nearly all have been unvaccinated. Only about 2% of cases have been in people known to have been fully vaccinated with the recommended two doses of the MMR vaccine, according to data from the South Carolina state health department.

Daskalakis, along with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Dr. Annie Andrews from South Carolina, blamed US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a rising distrust of vaccinations that has allowed measles to spread so rapidly.

“What’s happening today with measles is absolutely public health malpractice, and it’s completely preventable,” said Green, who is also a physician. “It is public health malpractice to have thwarted confidence in vaccinations.”

A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for a required vaccination last school year, according to data from the CDC, marking the fifth year in a row that coverage with the MMR vaccine has been below the federal target of 95%.

“The worst part of it is, is it’s being encouraged by our public health leaders. It’s exactly the wrong thing to do,” Green said. “Let’s be clear: Kids will die.”